Monthly Archives: November 2013

I hate living off Social Security and the stigma it brings. But today I realized the benefit it brings to me (besides being able to pay the bills). While I am trying to get my business off the ground and/or find a job I get the best perk ever!

I am thankful for being able to walk my daughter into school everyday. To help her hang up her coat and tell her to have a great day and that I will see her after school.

I am thankful for being able to pick her up after school and being able to make dinner with her or while she plays in the other room.

Living off of Social Security sucks, but being able to do all of that is completely AWESOME! 😀

Jean: Thankful that she has put up with my whiny, pushy butt since we were in the womb together 🙂 She accepts me for me and only complains about me when I am really a Bitch.

Tara: My constant reminder that I am a good person and a good mother. Thankful for her tell it like it is attitude that reminds me so much of her brother(our Justin). It pisses me off sometimes that she has the ability to make me aware of what is and is not my responsibility 🙂

Anastasia: Who is the light of my life and reminds me that being young can be fun and just as horribly hard as being older. I am thankful for her creativity because it reminds me that sometimes it is okay to make up your own story.

Carrie Anderson: What can I say? She taught me how to enjoy Elvis, tolerate SpongeBob and tell the people who want to judge me to Fuck off. She is a good friend and constantly surprises me with her strength and her sensitive side.

Danielle Wallace: I am thankful to have such a calm and loving influence in my life. She has accepted me since Kindergarten, had my back when bullied at school, and has never failed to make me feel that I am a worthwhile person to know.

Eric Baker: He constantly shows me that crazy can be fun and useful 🙂 He has a perseverance that constantly amazes me. As many times as he has said “I’m just gonna pack it up and say Fuck all of them” he has stuck it out came out a stronger man for it.

Beverly(mom), Cheryl, Terry, and Pam: My teachers and my mothers. They have and continue to show me strength, compassion and understanding. We grow away from parents as we age, we have our own lives to live. Somehow we always know they are behind us ready to catch if we fall.

I am thankful for every friend and family member that I have. Each and everyone of you has shown me a part of myself and added to my life in some way. I would not be the person I am today if it weren’t for knowing you. To all that I have not mentioned THANK YOU! for being you and making my life more interesting, calm, stronger, fun, loving, exciting, and over all so much FULLER! I am truly THANKFUL FOR YOU!

Justin wrote this about 2 months and 12 days before he died. At this point he didn’t know that his kidney was failing again, he hadn’t had any confirmation from the doctors anyway. Something inside was telling him he wasn’t long for this world. For me his death came suddenly, for him not so much. He seemed to know that his time was short. I am sharing this because I am Thankful for the time that I got to spend with this man. I wish I had more time, but I am thankful for the time I was given. Without further ado…….

Justin Prather

November 2010

With Thanksgiving around the corner I’m reminded of what to be thankful for. Often I’m blinded by what I want instead of seeing what I have. Looking back at my life wondering when was the defining moment? When did I become who I am?

Life has taught me that its not what you have its what you do with it. I was twenty when I found out my kidneys were failing. At first I was optimistic thinking No believing that I could somehow change what was happening. Slowly I got weaker losing my fight despite my positive outlook. I felt betrayed by my body defeated by this world that was taking me away. I would like to say I was strong that I held on to something anything. But the truth is I turned my back to everything falling into my own darkness. Not caring living to die waiting for my day to come.

The years pasted slowly leaving only a haze over my wounded eyes. Unable to see unwilling to be lost within my own mind. Time the constant reminder of my failure taking comfort from my own suffering. Nine years pass and I was just a shadow of what I once was. Haunted by the ghosts from my past unable to let go of the dream. The silent voice whispering within my heart reminding me of the spark. The light that was still burning within my eyes even though I refused to see. The desire of wanting to be crumbling the walls that were holding me.

I have been given a second chance to right a wrong. Life is an experience and a journey. No matter how far you traveled or how much you learn you will leave this earth exactly were you started. True happiness comes from believing you are happy. The secret of life is to love to live because life is a gift. And as long as you hold on to your dreams letting them inspire you to be more you will become..

My time may be short but I am thankful to be here, Happy to be alive, And I will die knowing the child within………